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Information about the working relationship between Cabinet Minister Kiri Allan and a senior Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) official should remain secret to protect free and frank exchanges among officials, says the Chief Ombudsman.
National MP Simeon Brown had sought a review from Peter Boshier after the contents of a text message were withheld following his Official Information Act request, which asked for material referencing Allan’s “behaviour or conduct”.
The text was found to be in scope, meaning it could potentially shed light on concerns that have been raised about the working relationships in Allan’s office – which Allen has strenuously refuted.
But what the text actually says was withheld under the OIA clause that protects the free and frank expression of opinions between officials.
The text was sent on March 10 this year. It was from Robert Pigou, the head of MBIE’s regional development unit Kānoa, to MBIE chief executive Carolyn Tremain, who had asked Pigou how he was getting on with Allan.
Pigou has said that the text “does not express concerns about staff working in the office and therefore no follow-up action was needed”.
In his ruling, Boshier said that Tremain was entitled to withhold the contents of the text because candid and unreserved exchanges between officials are needed.
“It is important that Chief Executives and their senior managers are able to communicate in a free, frank and efficient manner. Were such information to be released, then I consider it likely that officials would become more inhibited in communicating in such a way in future,” he said.
He has seen “and carefully considered” the text and its contents, and ruled that the public interest in releasing it did not outweigh the need to withhold it.
MIBIE had adequately addressed the public interest in providing Brown with further context around the text, he added.
That context was that Allan was the newly-appointed Minister for Regional Development, and she had been traveling with Pigou for a few days. The text did not relate to any specific event, but was part of an ongoing exchange between Pigou and Tremain about how his relationship with the minister was progressing.
“This was the Minister’s first set of regional engagements for this portfolio, and we were still establishing a working relationship with her,” Tremain said in further information she sent to Brown.
“I regularly exchange this type of information with my senior managers because this ensures that as officials, and as the Chief Executive with ultimate responsibility for our engagement with our Ministers and their offices, we are providing support in a way that meets the needs of each Minister.”
Brown said he was “disappointed” but accepted the Chief Ombudsman’s ruling. He maintained there was a public interest argument in releasing what the text message says.
Allan is due to meet Prime Minister Chris Hipkins at the end of this week when he returns from Europe to discuss the matters that have been raised with the working relationships in her office.
Along with the text message, one other item was found to be in scope for Brown’s OIA request. It involved the National Emergency Management Agency, but its nature and date and content were withheld.
NEMA chief executive Dave Gawn, in the OIA response, said: “I was aware that there were concerns with regard to relationships in the Minister’s office and I further understand that action was taken to address these concerns.”
Concerns about working relationships have also been confirmed by Department of Conservation boss Penny Nelson, who said they were from over a year ago. She discussed the issue with Ministerial Services, the matter was resolved, and nothing further was brought to her attention.
An anonymous allegation of being shouted at has also been reported, which Allan has refuted.
Allan has said there have been no formal complaints about her behaviour, and that she is a fair boss who has never shouted at staff. She has accused Brown and the National Party of a fishing exercise that has come up empty.
Hipkins has been careful not to frame his meeting with Allan later this week as her career hanging in the balance.
But he has also said it would be premature to make any judgment until he had heard from her, adding that she was “an exceptionally talented minister”.
He also noted that public sector chief executives had resolved the previous concerns.
“The chief executives concerned have not raised any specific concerns with me,” Hipkins said last Monday.
“If they don’t feel they have any issues that need to be elevated to me because they are staffing matters, then I’ll leave that with them. That’s the appropriate course of action.
“I don’t see the need for there to be a separate layer of inquiry over the top of that.”
He added it was difficult to make any calls about anonymous allegations. Shouting might be okay in the workplace depending on the circumstances, he added, but not in a one-on-one context.
Derek Cheng is a senior journalist who started working for the Herald in 2004. He has done several stints in the Press Gallery, starting in 2010, and is a former deputy political editor.
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